The Korean ‘Examination Hell’: Long Hours of Studying, Distress, and Depression

Abstract

The goal of this study was to investigate whether the higher rates of clinical depression found among Korean than American adolescents was related to Korean's daily ordeal of studying and schoolwork in preparation for the competitive college entrance examination. A sample of 56 high school seniors in Korea and 62 seniors in the United States provided time-sampling data on the amount of time they spent in daily activities and their affect states during these activities. The Korean adolescents were found to spend much more time in schoolwork and less time in discretionary activities than their American counterparts. Korean adolescents' affect states across daily activities were more negative relative to American adolescents. In the combined sample of Korean and American adolescents spending less time in active leisure activities and experiencing more negative affect states during schoolwork, socializing, and passive leisure activities were related to higher depression. These findings suggest that the effect of the college exam in generating depression in Korean adolescents may be partly mediated through its effect on their daily experience.

Feldman, S. S., and Rosenthal, D. A. (1991). Age expectation of behavioral autonomy in Hong Kong, Australian and American Youth: The influence of family variables and adolescents' values. Int. J. Psychol. 26: 1–23.Google Scholar

Larson, R.W., and Verma, S. (1999). How children and adolescents spend time across the world: Work, play, and developmental opportunities. Psychol. Bull. 125: 701–736.Google Scholar

Lee, M. (1994). Cultural differences in the daily manifestation of adolescent depression: A comparative study of American and Korean high school seniors. Ph.D. Dissertation, School of Human Resources and Family Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.Google Scholar

McDonough, P. M. (1991, April). Who goes where to college: Social class and organizational context effects. Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Chicago.Google Scholar

Nishino, J. (1997). Will the two-day weekend bring more leisure (Yutori) to Japanese adolescence? Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Leisure Studies, The University of Illinois, Urbana.Google Scholar

Noh, M. O. (1984). The effect of anxiety on physical health for female final year students in senior-high school. Unpublished M.S. Thesis, Ewha Women's University.Google Scholar

Verma, S. (1998, July). Daily effects of stress on Indian adolescents psychological states and family interactions. Paper presented at the Meetings of the International Society for Behavioral Development, Berne, Switzerland.Google Scholar

White, M. (1993). The Material Child: Coming of Age in Japan and America. The Free Press, New York.Google Scholar

Whiting, B. B. (1976). The problem of the packaged variable. In Reigel, K. F., and Meacham, J. A. (eds.), The Developing Individual in a Changing World (pp. 303–309). Mouton, The Hague, The Netherlands.Google Scholar

Won, H. J. (1989). The daily leisure of Korean school adolescents and its relationship to subjective well-being and leisure functioning. Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Leisure Studies and Services, University of Oregon.Google Scholar

Yadusky-Holahan, M., and Holahan, W. (1983). The effects of academic stress upon the anxiety and depression levels of gifted high school students. Gifted Child Quar. 27: 42–46.Google Scholar